Way back in Deuteronomy, Moses, speaking for God, explained that the Israelites had to celebrate 7 festivals each year. They were Passover, Harvest, Weeks (Pentecost), in the Spring (which Jesus fulfilled). Then Rosh Ha-Shanah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Tabernacles (Shelters) or Sukkot, in the fall. These Jesus will fulfill when he comes the second time. Check out the “God’s Calendar” video below that explains all this.
Three of these festivals were a must: Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles.
In ancient times, people walked. Jerusalem was built on 5 mountains. It was an uphill climb from anywhere. Check out the video below of a modern-day hike from Jericho to Jerusalem.
So, as the people walked, they sang these psalms — the Psalms of Ascents — they ascended to Jerusalem.
These 15 psalms, from 120-134, are organized in 5 groups of 3. Each triad takes us from trouble, trust and to triumph. They speak of trouble and call to God, they confirm their trust in the Lord and then they triumph in the Lord’s victory over their problems.
That’s how our lives should be. These are short, so we’ll go through each one. Let’s dig in….
The Psalms of Ascents
Psalm 120
1 I took my troubles to the Lord;
I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.
2 Rescue me, O Lord, from liars
and from all deceitful people.
3 O deceptive tongue, what will God do to you?
How will he increase your punishment?
4 You will be pierced with sharp arrows
and burned with glowing coals.5 How I suffer in far-off Meshech.
Psalm 120 NLT
It pains me to live in distant Kedar.
6 I am tired of living
among people who hate peace.
7 I search for peace;
but when I speak of peace, they want war!
Verse 5 is prophetic. Meshech is Russia and Kedar is the Arabs, Israel’s biggest enemies. The Russian Jews and Jews from other Arab nations have returned or are returning to Israel. Verses 6 and 7 describe how it is today. Israel wants peace and all they want is war. To keep up with the Middle East, follow Amir Tsarfati on Telegram.
Note: the Hebrew name for Jerusalem is Zion and it’s used interchangeably.
Psalm 121
One of my personal favorites!
1 I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!3 He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.5 The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
Psalm 121 NLT
and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.
Psalm 122 – A Psalm of David
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 And now here we are,
standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is a well-built city;
its seamless walls cannot be breached.
4 All the tribes of Israel—the Lord’s people—
make their pilgrimage here.
They come to give thanks to the name of the Lord,
as the law requires of Israel.
5 Here stand the thrones where judgment is given,
the thrones of the dynasty of David.6 Pray for peace in Jerusalem.
Psalm 122 NLT
May all who love this city prosper.
7 O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.
8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say,
“May you have peace.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.
We need to pray this regularly — pray for the peace of Jerusalem and Israel. God told us back in Genesis…
3 “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.”
Genesis 12:3a NLT
Play it safe. Pray for Israel!
Psalm 123
1 I lift my eyes to you,
Psalm 123 NLT
O God, enthroned in heaven.
2 We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy,
just as servants keep their eyes on their master,
as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy,
for we have had our fill of contempt.
4 We have had more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud
and the contempt of the arrogant.
Psalm 124
A Psalm of David
1 What if the Lord had not been on our side?
Let all Israel repeat:
2 What if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us?
3 They would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger.
4 The waters would have engulfed us;
a torrent would have overwhelmed us.
5 Yes, the raging waters of their fury
would have overwhelmed our very lives.6 Praise the Lord,
Psalm 124 NLT
who did not let their teeth tear us apart!
7 We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap.
The trap is broken, and we are free!
8 Our help is from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 125
1 Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion;
they will not be defeated but will endure forever.
2 Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever.
3 The wicked will not rule the land of the godly,
for then the godly might be tempted to do wrong.
4 O Lord, do good to those who are good,
whose hearts are in tune with you.
5 But banish those who turn to crooked ways, O Lord.
Take them away with those who do evil.May Israel have peace!
Psalm 125 NLT
Psalm 126
1 When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem (Zion),
it was like a dream!
2 We were filled with laughter,
and we sang for joy.
And the other nations said,
“What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”
3 Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!
What joy!4 Restore our fortunes, Lord,
Psalm 126 NLT
as streams renew the desert.
5 Those who plant in tears
will harvest with shouts of joy.
6 They weep as they go to plant their seed,
but they sing as they return with the harvest.
Psalm 127
A Psalm of Solomon
1 Unless the Lord builds a house,
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.
2 It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.3 Children are a gift from the Lord;
Psalm 127 NLT
they are a reward from him.
4 Children born to a young man
are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.
5 How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!
He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.
Psalm 128
1 How joyful are those who fear the Lord—
all who follow his ways!
2 You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.
How joyful and prosperous you will be!
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine,
flourishing within your home.
Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees
as they sit around your table.
4 That is the Lord’s blessing
for those who fear him.5 May the Lord continually bless you from Zion.
May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live.
6 May you live to enjoy your grandchildren.
May Israel have peace!
Psalm 129
1 From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me.
Let all Israel repeat this:
2 From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me,
but they have never defeated me.
3 My back is covered with cuts,
as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.
4 But the Lord is good;
he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.5 May all who hate Jerusalem
Psalm 129 NLT
be turned back in shameful defeat.
6 May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop,
turning yellow when only half grown,
7 ignored by the harvester,
despised by the binder.
8 And may those who pass by
refuse to give them this blessing:
“The Lord bless you;
we bless you in the Lord’s name.”
Psalm 130
1 From the depths of despair, O Lord,
I call for your help.
2 Hear my cry, O Lord.
Pay attention to my prayer.3 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,
who, O Lord, could ever survive?
4 But you offer forgiveness,
that we might learn to fear you.5 I am counting on the Lord;
yes, I am counting on him.
I have put my hope in his word.
6 I long for the Lord
more than sentries long for the dawn,
yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.7 O Israel, hope in the Lord;
Psalm 130 NLT
for with the Lord there is unfailing love.
His redemption overflows.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from every kind of sin.
Guess who the last two verses are describing… Jesus — our Redeemer!
Psalm 131
A psalm of humility. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.
Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—
Psalm 131 NLT
now and always.
Can you honestly speak that psalm?
Psalm 132
1 Lord, remember David
and all that he suffered.
2 He made a solemn promise to the Lord.
He vowed to the Mighty One of Israel (Jacob),
3 “I will not go home;
I will not let myself rest.
4 I will not let my eyes sleep
nor close my eyelids in slumber
5 until I find a place to build a house for the Lord,
a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.”6 We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah;
then we found it in the distant countryside of Jaar.
7 Let us go to the sanctuary of the Lord;
let us worship at the footstool of his throne.
8 Arise, O Lord, and enter your resting place,
along with the Ark, the symbol of your power.
9 May your priests be clothed in godliness;
may your loyal servants sing for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject the king you have anointed (Messiah – Jesus!).
11 The Lord swore an oath to David
with a promise he will never take back:
“I will place one of your descendants
on your throne.
12 If your descendants obey the terms of my covenant
and the laws that I teach them,
then your royal line
will continue forever and ever.”13 For the Lord has chosen Jerusalem;
Psalm 132 NLT
he has desired it for his home.
14 “This is my resting place forever,” he said.
“I will live here, for this is the home I desired.
15 I will bless this city and make it prosperous;
I will satisfy its poor with food.
16 I will clothe its priests with godliness;
its faithful servants will sing for joy.
17 Here I will increase the power of David;
my anointed one will be a light for my people.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but he will be a glorious king.”
This one goes with yesterday’s chapter when Solomon brings the Ark to its permanent resting place.
Psalm 133
A psalm of David.
1How wonderful and pleasant it is
Psalm 133 NLT
when brothers live together in harmony!
2 For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil
that was poured over Aaron’s head,
that ran down his beard
and onto the border of his robe.
3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon
that falls on the mountains of Zion.
And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing,
even life everlasting.
Psalm 134
The psalmist gets to Jerusalem at night and is excited.
1Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
you who serve at night in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary,
and praise the Lord.3 May the Lord, who made heaven and earth,
Psalm 134 NLT
bless you from Jerusalem.
This World is Not Our Home!
Thank God! I thank Jesus for His sacrifice. This world is not my home! All born again Christians are citizens of Heaven. Just like the ancient Hebrew pilgrims who looked up towards Jerusalem with yearning and joy, we believers look up to our heavenly home in confident hope. Jesus promises us a New Heaven and a New Earth, as well as a New Jerusalem.
Paul wrote…
Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Philippians 3: 13b-14 NLT
Do you hear Jesus calling your name?
What are you waiting for?
